This summer beat the heat with a splash at the Chandragupta Jal Vihar pool.

The 25mx12m swimming pool — half the size of an Olympic swimming pool — reopened on Friday after it was shut down last year. The art, culture and youth affairs department had given Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation (BSTDC) the responsibility to run the swimming pool when it opened seven years ago.

After a tiff between the department and the tourism corporation last August, the department has now decided to run it through the Bihar State Sports Authority.

Gupteshwar Pandey, additional director-general, Bihar State Sports Authority, said: “The facility has been opened for the public and they are welcome to use it. The price for using the pool has been kept low so that many people can use the facility.”

The swimming pool’s other facilities like sauna bath and jacuzzi would resume in a week. The state sports authority took over the pool last year after the art, culture and youth affairs officials alleged that BSTDC was renting out the facility — on the southwest corner of Moinul Haque Stadium — for poolside or marriage parties.

This was brought to the chief minister’s notice at a review meeting in November 2011. In January last year, BSTDC was ordered not to rent out the place for parties and was finally taken off its plate by the art, culture and youth affairs department.

A BSTDC official had earlier told The Telegraph: “The swimming season starts in April and goes on till October. In order to retrieve the money spent by the corporation, it used to rent out the facility for weddings. But that was only during off-season, when the pool was closed. This has been done for years.”

The department carried out some renovation work at the facility before the pool was reopened. “There were a few delays as some things needed to be sorted out. This is summer and the right time for the pool to start again. The charges for use of the pool are economical. People interested to sign up will have to pay by demand draft,” an official at the Bihar State Sports Authority said.

However, BSTDC is now demanding a refund of the Rs 1.75 crore it earlier spent on renovations at the swimming pool. Sources at the BSTDC said the art, culture and youth affairs department has not contacted them since last year about the refund.

“We spent a huge amount of money to renovate the swimming pool when it was under us. The department should have returned the money after taking over the facility. But that has not happened till now.”

Officials at the state sports authority refused to comment. “This issue is between two departments (tourism and art, culture and youth affairs). We were directed to restart the facility and it has been done,” an official said.